Group Brewing / Homebrew Clubs

[Uranus_Sun_1]

I live in Meridian, MS, where we have no HB club. I was thinking about starting one here. Anyone know how to go about doing that?

Also, is it typical for HB clubs to charge membership fees? Do clubs typically pool together their resources to buy ingredients in bulk (basically run their own specialty HB store just for their members)? Do members of HB clubs brew together?

I assume every HB club is different based on location, number of members, who's involved, etc.

Thanks!

 

[VikeMan]

I live in Meridian, MS, where we have no HB club. I was thinking about starting one here. Anyone know how to go about doing that?

Maybe put a message in the South East Homebrew Forum here on HBT announcing your intent and asking for interested people to contact you.

Also, is it typical for HB clubs to charge membership fees?

I'd say it's pretty typical, to cover the costs of things like club T-shirts, jockey boxes and other dispensing equipment (if the club pours at public events), club insurance, Christmas parties, etc.

Do clubs typically pool together their resources to buy ingredients in bulk (basically run their own specialty HB store just for their members)?

I think group buys (to get better prices) are pretty common. But I don't know of any clubs actually running their own stores for members per se.

Do members of HB clubs brew together?

A lot of clubs hold occasional group brew days. And some people like to brew with other members from their clubs, even when it's not an official event.

 

[tennesseean_87]

I think fees are typical.

Buying bulk ingredients, canners, etc. is probably typical. That and doing big batches to split in someone has the fermentation capacity. I haven't heard of a store type thing.

 

[cactusgarrett]

I started up a club from scratch in my area. There were already larger ones in the greater metro area, but the one I was looking to start was a different "feel" - less pressure for structured activities, for example. If you have a neighborhood/city/regional message board (Facebook, NextDoor, etc.), put out the word there. We initially just set the club as a regular meeting type thing, but when it started gaining traction, we reached out to a local cafe to host our meetings (prior to covid, that is).

Once the club gained more members, we reached out to area homebrew shops, and they were more than happy to coordinate club discounts, bulk buys, etc. We didn't start charging dues until our 3rd year, and that was to cover the more "cooperative" stuff we do - sampling cups, materials for club exhibitions, signage, stuff like that. The dues are still optional, but buying in gets you perks that otherwise "base membership" wouldn't get you.

We often discuss when each of us is brewing and show up to each others' houses on brew days to hang out, talk shop. There are also a few sub-groups of 3-5 brewers each who are doing side projects like collaborative sour barrels, wine barrels, etc.